The next words out of their mouths is likely going to be a shopping list of their trauma, or how yours can’t be worse than theirs.
Almost like they have a Trauma Monopoly. Or they are the best of the best of Trauma victims.
Dont try to call them out on it, either. Oh you just didn’t. You will lose that person’s friendship for life. (But you’re probably better off without them anyway.)
What should you say instead? Something along the lines of, “Oh, you poor darling. I know. I have too, so I know how you’re feeling. Would you like a hug?” then sit down, shut up and listen. Hug them some more, then listen some more.
If a person in sharing that they’ve had any trauma at all, then they’re not coping with life right now and need you support, not your competition.
Well, it all happened then didn’t happen in relatively quick succession.
There was a protest organised, the correct paperwork filed, and a peaceful group was mobilised. The notice went out on Facebook that there was going to be a group of active transport users blocking the traffic on all 6 lanes of the Story Bridge with their bikes, prams, or just trainers.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) filed in the Courts for an injunction to stop the protest from happening sighting “Safety Concerns”.
QPS stated that they could not guarantee the safety of the protestors, and that the impacts to motorists would be too significant for Brisbane to cope with.
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
[Remarks on the first anniversary of the Alliance for Progress, 13 March 1962]” ― John F. Kennedy
Sadly, the Magistrate hearing the motion decided to agree with the QPS Prosecutor, sending us back into the Bad Old Days of Sir Joh Bjekle-Petersen (Sir Joh)
For those who wan the TLDR version, Sir Joh was the king of the Jerrymander and, back in the 1970’s and 1980’s ruled with an iron fist. He declared that no one in Queensland was allowed to protest and made them illegal. This didn’t stop people from doing so but, those who did met the end of the Queensland Police Force’s (QPF, as it was know back then) Billy clubs and unceremoniously loaded into the back of paddy wagons.
It was a common sight to see on the news, my mother’s cousin Lloyd, being loaded
QPF also had a “Special Branch”, whose main (and reportedly, sole) function was to keep an eye on those who engaged in political descent. I’d bet that Lloyd had a Special Branch file a metre thick!
Sadly the modern-day QPS has re-instituted the Special Branch but given it a less menacing name: Obsessed Person’s Unit. Different name but, in theory, a different purpose. I hope so. For my sake.
The Queensland Police Service is meant to protect the people engaging in lawful activities, not present roadblocks when it’s politically convenient or otherwise. Stating, in their brief, that they couldn’t guarantee the safety of the protesters is a junk argument. Roadblocks at the access roads would have been sufficient. And it’s their job.
Not only only is it their job, it’s written on their shirtsleeves: Protect and Serve. And that means everybody, not just the politically opportune ones.
By my inclusion the JFK quote, I am not inciting a call to arms. Not over a bike lane or pedestrian access, no matter the danger or inconvenience. I am suggesting that, should this become a precedent for all protests the government finds inconvenient, then there will be problems from those who seek the change we should have.
I can only but hope that this issue will be resolved promptly and that either one of the sides of the bridge is reopened while repairs are made to the other, the assessment isn’t as bad as we hoped, or some other compromise is reached in a hurry.
For those of you paying attention, I have some information from a source within the trucking industry locally regarding the bridge impact about 40 minutes West of Club Middo.
I wondered why everyone was quick to jump onboard, blaming the truck driver but there were (and still are) many questions to be answered. I did make comment that it could well have been an issue with the Pilot not making calls over the UHF CB.
Well, it turns out that these calls were made by both the Pilot AND the Police escort but these calls went unanswered and unacknowledged.
Once again, my source was quick to point out that this was not the drivers first “run” with this type of load, on this route. In fact, he had been taking these loads out (and coming home empty) in the immediate days prior to the incident.
Further speculation won’t be entered into on this site, but what I can say is that the Insurance bill may not cover everything. For this, you’ve got the cost of the wind generator mast being disassembled, then the tow/removal of both the remainder of the load and the truck and the damage to the bridge, which has been extensive*.
My source also told me that The Queensland Government charge people $175,000 PER HOUR for any Highway closure. This truck was there roughly 36 hours. Even my tiny calculator can work out that’s a bill of $6.3MILLION ALONE! And I don’t know if this includes closure or partial closure of the traffic crossing over the bridge is included in that figure. If so, the bill will compound exponentially because, after the impact, it took Queensland Transport and Main Roads a good couple of days to asses the structure of the bridge and open one lane of the bridge. It took them a lot longer to open the Southbound direction of the bridge to traffic!
Wowsers!
Now, I highlighted the damage to the bridge. Let me be clear on this point, it has been widely reported that this bridge was nearing the end of it’s life, anyway. A new bridge was in the Feasibility Study phase of replacement, and now the Ipswich City Council is asking the Queensland State Government to now faast-track the replacement and, with this as an opportunity, it may well be the push the State Government needs. But I doubt it.
Anyway, I will keep updating this as and when interesting news comes about.
Turns out there is an e-petition now circulating regarding the active transport access across the Story Bridge for cycling. I’m not sure when it went live, but it’s up as of 16:20hrs, 20/05/2025. I don tknow how long it’s up for, so get on it, folks!
